18 Southeastern Virginia Jewish News
Edmarc and JFS workshop helps local teens cope with
By Jennie Norfleet
JFS Marketing Associate
Arch Sports in Chesapeake. This
event was the third in a series of
community grief programs facil-
itated by this unique partnership
on an annual basis. Last year, the
workshop focused on adults
experiencing grief through the
eyes of 10 panelist, ages six
through 14.
"Friends
Helping
Friends
Grieve"
Grieving teens, ages 13 to 17,
were encouraged to bring a friend
to support them during this day
long event. The intent was to
encourage the participants to
build a support network outside
of their immediate families.
Debra Mayer, JFS Director of
Clinical Services explains, "teens
are asserting their independence
and often going outside their fam-
ily for social and emotional sup-
port. So it is only normal to teach
them that peers can be a valuable
resource when a death has
touched their life."
The workshop incorporated
the theme of team building in a
unique way. Amy Cadge, a team
building expert from Williams-
burg, designed several activities
on and off the ice geared to build
On Feb. 9, area teens on ice
skates, trusted their safety to a
close friend as they were led
blindfolded around a local skat-
ing rink. Meandering a path both
on and off the ice, these young
people were participating in a
"trust walk," part of a workshop
designed for teens grieving the
loss of someone close to them.
Entitled "Friends Helping
Friends Grieve," the event was
sponsored by LifeNet, the JFS
Center for Loss Transition and
Healing and Edmarc Hospice for
Children, and was held at Ice
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a sense of community and coop-
eration among the teens, most of
whom were meeting each other
for the first time.
The goal of the "trust walk,"
Cadge explains, "shows that it
may be frightening to be depen-
dent on someone else, but it
demonstrates that ultimately your
friend has your best interest at
heart."
Laura Kanter, L.C.S.W. a JFS
grief counselor comments, "Exer-
cises such as the "trust walk" help
teens see their friend as a stable
force in their life. Often teens
don't delve into conversations
about trust and love with their
friends. These exercises help to
express some of those unspoken
emotions, emotions that are help-
ful when dealing with the death of
a friend or family member."
The day also included smaller
breakout sessions designed to
help each teenager focus on
his/her own individual loss. An
emotional memorial service con-
cluded the day, affording each
teen the opportunity to speak the
name of the person they were
there to remember as they glided
around a rink lit only by flash-
lights. This while the song, "In
the Arms of Angels," by Sarah
McLachlan was played on the
fink's sound system. Each partic.-
ipant went home with their arms
loaded with prizes, generously
donated by local merchants.
The positive impact of this
experience was summed up best
by one teenager, overheard saying
to his friend, "I'm definitely
coming back next year!"
Those who would like to make
a donation to help support pro-
grams such as this one, or to get
more information about bereave-
ment programming at Jewish
Family Service, may call Debra
Mayer at 459-4640.
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